There aren’t many actual new releases this time of year, but we’ve gotten in so many cool reissues and other interesting tidbits that we felt it was worth putting one final list together for 2013. It was a great year for music & we’re really looking forward to 2014!

Steven RahmanTop 5 Hip Hop
Clear Soul Forces – Gold PP7s
Wordy, dense, & nerdy… References abound, particularly to video games, & other great fun without ever sounding too childish. Very boom-bap, & definitely for folks that like their rap music with heavy trivia included.
L’Orange & Stik Figa- The City Under the City
On Mello Music Group, Stik & L’Orange haven’t worked together often. This is the first I’ve heard of Stik since Oddisee’s Odd Seasons, & the first I’ve heard of producer L’Orange ever. The two work out really well. L’Orange has this quirky sense for samples that is perfectly complimented by Stik’s easy flow. Plus the guests on this are amazing.
Tyler the Creator- WOLF
OFWGKTA… Wolf is evolution for Tyler; a jazzier more fluid style of production under slightly less graphic lyrics. Tyler is a great big fan of Pharell & it shows in all his production, but WOLF really polishes the sound. There’s a certain maturity in WOLF that had been lacking from Tyler’s previous projects, which is not to say that the humorous, ridiculous, grotesqueness of Goblin & Bastard aren’t there, just not as prevalent.
Earl Sweatshirt- Doris
This is some of the best rapping I’ve heard in years. Lot of people saying this record lacks content, but I think the density of these rhymes supports second, third, fourth listening to catch some of the slickest wordplay & storytelling this side of Slick Rick. With a lot of the production being handled by Earl himself, this is definitely the album we were waiting for.
Chance The Rapper – Acid Rap
Bootlegging put this not- for- sale tape on the Billboard Top 100 list, & there’s no questioning why. Chance twists words into his flows using his melodic sense to create some really cool & trippy effects. The flow is often bent & syrupy, rarely fitting easily into the beat, but around it, just ahead, just behind but never off time. This is the most Chicago a rapper has sounded since Common dropped Resurrection & if you don’t believe me just check out the extended juke finish on “Good Ass Outro”
Honorable Mentions:
Vic Mensa – INNANETAPE
Tanya Morgan – Rubber Souls
Run The Jewels (Killer Mike & El-P) – Run The Jewels
J.Cole – Born Sinner
Big Sean – Hall of Fame
Dessa – Parts of Speech

Top 5 Not Hip Hop
Cecile McLorin Salvant – Womanchild
Classically trained in Opera, Salvant is a prodigiously talented singer. Very adventurous, she combines technique & style to create a very modern style of jazz that truly recognizes the masters of the genre.
Bilal – A Love Surreal
Groovy & soulful, with a strong jazz influence, A Love Surreal is alternative soul that stretches out the genre definitions without totally abandoning them. Lots of Prince in Bilal Oliver’s singing style, but something quite different in the long run…
Arctic Monkeys – AM
I love the Arctic Monkeys. Rock’n Roll with lyrics that combining irreverence with heart. It’s a very late night record, even though this record hits a lot harder than previous records.
Alice Smith – She
This record is everything I hoped it would be. After a long lay-off, Smith comes back with a record that shows off her rangy huge voice over Pop, Rock, & Soul soundscapes.
Hiatus Kaiyote – Tawk Tomahawk
Tawk Tomahawk is one of the best future-soul, alt-soul records I’ve ever heard. It takes the feeling & sounds of hip hop & translates them to a live band feeling better than anyone save the Roots.
Honorable Mentions:
Valerie June – Pushing Against a Stone
Foreign Exchange – Love in Flying Colors
Best Coast- Fade Away
Elvis Costello & the Roots- Wise Up Ghost

A HAWK AND A HACKSAW – YOU HAVE ALREADY GONE TO THE OTHER WORLD – Former Neutral Milk Hotel/Beirut musicians craft true gypsy music (trust me). Dynamic and cinematic, heavy and authentic.
KEN CAMDEN – SPACE MIRROR – Chicago musician who evokes electronic pioneers like Raymond Scott and the score to Blade Runner.
MOLLY DRAKE – MOLLY DRAKE – Haunting, self-penned songs for the piano and voice by former war-era radio singer and mother of Nick Drake.
FOREST SWORDS – ENGRAVINGS – Meditation through repetition, driven at a gangsters’ pace. Forest because it was mixed in a field instead of a studio. Swords because it cuts like the RZA.
HAR MAR SUPERSTAR – BYE BYE 17 – This is, for my money, the album of the year. Minneapolis, MN native sounds like Raphael Saadiq, looks like Revenge of the Nerds. The best soul record to come out since Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. This is the record no one told you about that you have been looking for.
KANYE WEST – YEEZUS – It brought tears to Lou Reed’s eyes.
YOUNG FATHERS – TAPE TWO – Africa-by-way-of-Scotland psychedelic hip hop. Not your normal rhythms, the musical overlap of lifelong friends is more feels than genre.
V/A – AFTER DARK 2 – Compilation of Italians Do It Better bands. Sorry, Cliff, but Johnny Jewel is why we liked the Drive soundtrack. In fact, some of his original discarded music for the film is included on this record. Phil Spector of Neo-Italo-disco.
V/A – BARO RECORDS COMP 001 – Compilation of Chicago and Oakland ambient music. No pressure total enchantment.
V/A – STUDIO GHIBLI: KOKYO KYOKUSHU – The Czech Philharmonic performs pieces from five Studio Ghibli films, including Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.